NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 20 – Trapped
Buzzing… I can hear buzzing.
A cold breeze washes over my face.
Immediately in discomfort; I woke up.
I slowly open my eyes and am greeted with the ceiling’s lined fluorescent lights beaming on my face.
An unfamiliar ceiling, and an unfamiliar place.
I pull myself up from the cold marble floor, and realize that I am in-between two empty shelves.
Based on my surroundings, it seems I’m in a convenience store.
It’s quite a sizable convenience store too. But all the gondola shelves are empty… Weird.
Wait a minute… Why am I here..?
No way, did I pass out in a convenience store?
I instinctively look over to the counter to find the cashier. Only to see an unusually clean counter and a receipt dangling off of the register.
I look at my attire; it seems I am still in my high school uniform.
Peakstone... High School...
Oh yeah… Memories flood in, and I start to remember everything from the start…
But wait…
My memories are a bit blurry, was it all just a dream?
All I remember was that Delilah cheated on me…
So I decided to enter a convenience store to buy some ice cream.
Then… I was suddenly in a dark storage room, and a warm bright light wrapped around my body like a blanket.
After that, a strange and tall woman guided me to a hole…
I fell and then I…
…
I clutched my head with my left hand.
Weird…
Why can’t I remember it all?
…
Ah… It’s all fading away.
I think that… Up to the point before I entered the store…
Everything else before that was actually real.
Then for some reason, I fell unconscious and then…
The sequence of events that came afterwards just felt… Unreal.
To be honest, I think it really was just a weird dream.
But…
This store… It’s unfamiliar to me.
The one I usually visit wasn’t always this spacious… Plus, the ceiling was way higher than usual.
Usually gondola shelves spanned up to about my shoulders... But now they loomed over me about twice my height.
…
What is going on..?
If I’m still in my uniform, that means I haven't gone back home yet.
Shit… I hope it wasn’t past my curfew.
I’ll have to check what time it is.
I checked my pockets…
…
Wait-
Where the hell is my phone and wallet?!
I desperately looked around the floor.
Even looking under the gondola shelves.
Damn it!
Did I get robbed while I was unconscious?!
Fuck!
I saved up 2 months’ worth of allowance!
Plus, my parents bought me that phone!
I clutched my head with both of my hands.
Damn it, can this day get any worse?!
Seriously… Where the hell was the staff?
I came out of the aisle, and walked towards the counter.
Jeez… The cashier really left me alone in the store huh?
I swear… They’re gonna get fired for not checking the store before closing.
Plus, they didn’t even turn off the lights.
I turned towards the store’s entrance doors.
Let’s also hope they were careless enough to also leave the doors unlocked-
…
But…
Beyond the transparent glass that should’ve shown the parking lot…
Was just pure darkness.
…
What the fuck?
I hurried to the front of the store and stepped outside.
Ding~!
As I walked and looked around…
There seems to be some sort of weird black veil covering the entire store.
The veil limited the outside space of the store, only up to the sidewalk.
There was nothing past that…
And upon closer inspection, the barrier itself seemed to be made out of a black gooey substance.
…
What’s going on..?
This looks weird…
…
Maybe let's try going through it..?
I reached my right arm towards the barrier.
Slosh-
My arm slipped right into the black goo, just like how boots submerged in mud.
And…
…
Nothingness.
The first word that came to my mind.
Right now, there was no sensation being recorded onto my arm.
No… Rather…
It felt as if the concept of my right arm disappeared.
Huff… Huff…
W-What is this feeling..?
The muscles, bones, and consciousness on my right arm.
All of it was gone.
This feeling…
It felt as if my arm had suddenly been amputated, and my brain was struggling to comprehend what was going on.
Was this pain?
No…
It was confusion.
I’m scared.
Right now…
My brain is scared of the unknown.
No… No! No! No!
Shit!!!
Let me out!
I quickly pulled out my right arm.
And fell onto the hard cement.
Thud.
Huff… Huff…
“M-My arm!”
After touching my arm to verify its existence, my fear gradually dissipated.
What just happened to me..?
…
I don’t ever want to experience that again.
Looking at the sludgy veil…
Am I…
Trapped in here..?